Car Accident Lawyer - Injury Compensation Claim

Car accident lawyers in Canada deal with more than 100,000 claims for compensation on an annual basis. There are about a half a million motor vehicle collisions in Canada every year which cause about 250,000 people to be injured, over 20,000 of which are critical injuries of which about 3,000 are fatalities. There are about 8 deaths every day on Canadian roads and there is a serious injury every 2 minutes. Alcohol consumption is involved in a third of all fatal accidents and most fatalities did not wear a seat belt. The leading cause of death for people less than 30 years of age relates to motor vehicle accidents with SUV accidents accounting for more than double the normal rate of fatalities as a result of a road accident.

An accident compensation claim arises out of a motor vehicle collision that results in injury and loss caused by a negligent 3rd party. If you have suffered injury in a car accident was not your fault, you should instruct a specialist car accident lawyer to file a claim for damages on your behalf. Lawsuits for road accident compensation claim settlements are carried out on a contingency basis which effectively means no win no fee. This means that you don't have to pay the car accident lawyer throughout the case unless and until the compensation claim is won. If you win the case, you pay the car accident lawyer and keep the rest. If your case is lost, you don't get any money but you don't have to pay your lawyer any money either. The defendants insurers must, on the other hand, pay their lawyer, win or lose, throughout the lawsuit. If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident as a driver, rider, passenger or pedestrian and you would like free advice without any further obligation from a specialist personal injury lawyer just contact our offices.

Negligence Law

Motor vehicle accident compensation claim settlements are governed by the general law of negligence which dates back to the fourteenth century when a man in England lost a horse on a ferry that sank whilst crossing a river. The law of negligence has been continuously honed and developed since then. Most personal injury cases based on the law of negligence that are determined in a court of law in Canada relate to collisions involving motor vehicles where claimants are represented by specialist a car accident lawyer. Negligence has many definitions and can come from acts of omission which is a failure to do something that a reasonable person would have done or from acts of commission which is actively doing something that a reasonable person would not have done :-

"The core idea of negligence is that people should exercise reasonable care when they act by taking account of the potential harm that they might foreseeably cause to other people."

Standard of Proof

A car accident lawyer must go through several steps in order to make a successful damages claim following a motor collision. It must be shown that the defendant in the case owed a duty of care to the injured party. All road users owe a duty of care to all other road users so this part is usually straightforward. The claimant must then prove, on the balance of possibilities that the defendant's behavior has fallen below a reasonable and acceptable standard. This is the main thrust of an allegation of negligence in a car accident claim. The claimant car accident lawyer must show that it is more likely than not that the defendant was negligent. This is easier than the standard of proof in a criminal trial which requires proof 'beyond all reasonable doubt'.[A criminal conviction of the defendant for a moving traffic offense isn’t necessary to make a claim in the civil courts but it helps greatly.] The car accident lawyer must then prove that injury and loss occurred as a result of the defendant's negligent actions. Most financial losses are obvious and a damages award will cover them while others are considered remote and not claimable because they were unforeseeable.

Compensation Award

Once it is determined that a third party was to blame by way of negligence for a motor vehicle collision, a car accident lawyer goes about assessing the value of the injury and any financial losses. The value of pain and suffering for personal injury is determined after consideration of the extent of the injury, the recovery period and whether or not there are any long term disabilities. Other losses are calculated where possible or are assessed by a judge who has the final determination of the overall value of the award after representations from lawyers on both sides.

Evidence Preservation

After a collision there are a number of things that a car accident lawyer will advise you to do:-

exchange name, address and phone number

obtain insurance company details, policy number and driver's license number

record details of cars, including year, make, model, color and registration plate

note the exact location of the collision and how it happened

photograph the location and damage sustained

do not admit liability for the accident even if you think it was your fault

photograph the vehicles, location and any visible injury

take down personal details of witnesses

keep a daily diary about injuries, medication and treatment

retain receipts for expenses

Car Accident Lawyer

If you are a victim of a car accident, you need to see a personal injury lawyer who only gets paid if you win your claim. This is a lawyer who is an expert in motor vehicle accidents and who understands the type and scope of injuries that can be sustained in car accidents. The car accident lawyer will negotiate with the 3rd party insurance company and, if they do not get agreement for the dollar amount they want, they can go to trial to get more money on the table for you. Our lawyers are expert personal injury advocates and only deal with road traffic accident claims. For free advice with no further obligation just contact our offices.

Our car accident lawyers deal with all motor vehicle collisions including compensation claims for pedestrians, passengers, motorcycle riders and cyclists. Our personal injury lawyers are very experienced in these matters and we offer expertise that is second to none. Our lawyers deal exclusively in claims involving physical injury.

If you would like to talk to an experience car accident lawyer without obligation then just call the helpline or email our offices or complete and send the contact form and a personal injury lawyer who deals exclusively in accident claims will phone you with advice at no cost and information on how best to preserve your legal rights to compensation for your injuries.